EDUCATION

Richmond is Virginia’s biggest Democratic town. But no city body or other Democratic organization criticized the mayor. Why? Because this former chairman of the General Assembly’s legislative Black Caucus also serves as chairman of the Virginia Democratic Party. Link

The cost of removing debris and replacing equipment after 11 playground fires over the past two years is nearing $1 million, nearly 10 percent of Richmond Public Schools’ overall maintenance and improvement budget for that period. Link

Jones, it would appear, can’t handle the truth. Instead, he comes off looking stingy on school maintenance, lavish on spending for private-sector sports teams and indifferent about the safety and comfort of the city’s school children. Link

No matter the efforts of the school system’s maintenance staff — and they’re struggling against leaky roofs, damp basements and broken air conditioning systems, among other problems — the city’s four dozen schools still need hundreds of millions of dollars in emergency, short- and long-term repairs and renovations and, in some cases, replacement. Link

An eye opening report from the Richmond city auditor was released at Monday night’s school board meeting. The audit focused on nutrition services, training and development, and workers compensation. Link

Mayor Dwight C. Jones took issue with a report that Richmond Public Schools needs tens of millions of dollars for maintenance issues, saying the city has bigger school needs than leaky roofs and faulty air conditioners. Link